Lone star tick nymphs and adults are spreading and increasing in numbers, data from the MV Tick Programs 2018 yard surveys shows.

With tick-borne diseases a growing matter of public health concern on the Vineyard, education and prevention are more important than ever, a leading expert said.

The recent death of a seasonal resident with an apparent case of tularemia has sparked renewed discussion about tick-borne illnesses.

Dukes County and the Island boards of health are sponsoring a Martha’s Vineyard Tick Fair on Saturday, July 28.

Maps prepared by cartographer Chris Seidel document the spread of deer ticks, dog ticks and lone star ticks.

The county will take over the tick-borne illness prevention program led by Island biologist Richard Johnson.

Are rabbits really to blame for last summer's outbreak of tularemia and for what could be a repeat performance this year?

Sam Telford, a parasitologist from Harvard University and the newest member of a team sent here to investigate why such a rare disease has taken hold on the Vineyard, doesn't think so. What's more, Mr. Telford is just as skeptical about the prevailing theory that most victims breathed in air particles contaminated with the tularemia bacteria.

Public health officials this week confirmed the third case
of tularemia contracted on the Vineyard.

A four-year-old boy from Newton is this year's first confirmed case of tularemia on the Vineyard, but state and Island health officials stopped far short of sounding an alarm this week over a new outbreak of the rare bacterial infection.

Tissue samples taken last September from a Chilmark skunk and a Katama rat tested positive for tularemia, the rare disease that infected 15 people on the Island last year, killing one man who did not seek medical attention in time.